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The 20 best Hulu originals to watch right now
NOW that coronavirus lockdowns have made us spend more time indoors, there are plenty of shows on Hulu to help pass the time.
The streaming platform has a wide variety of dramas, rom-coms, classics and comedies for all to enjoy.
Take a look at some of the top Hulu originals.
1. Normal People (2020)
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Normal People is a 12-part miniseries is based on the 2018 novel by the Irish author Sally Rooney.
Marianne and Connell are in their final year of high school in Country Sligo, they begin an on-again-off-again relationship that continues through their time at Trinity College in Dublin.
Daisy Edgar-Jones plays Marianne Sheridan and Paul Mescal is Connell Waldron.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 90%
2. The Handmaid’s Tale (2017)
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This adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s dystopian science fiction novel is an Emmy award winning show on Hulu.
Now with three seasons, the show has moved beyond the book’s plot but still centers around life in the former US after fertility rates are decimated and women capable of giving birth are held as slaves.
Elisabeth Moss stars as one of these “Handmaids,” as they’re called, who is assigned to the home of one of the regime’s commanders.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 88%
3. High Fidelity (2020)
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This 2020 reimagining of the Nick Hornby novel stars Zoe Kravitz in the role popularized by John Cusack in the 2000 rom-com of the same name.
Kravitz plays a record shop owner in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, who tries to figure out why her past relationships failed.
So far, there are just the 10 episodes of season 1 to watch.
Hulu has not confirmed a second season yet.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 86%
4. Ramy (2019)
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Ramy Youssef won a Best Actor Golden Globe for his portrayal of a version of himself in a comedy about a first-generation Egyptian American on a spiritual journey in his politically-divided New Jersey neighborhood.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 96%
5. Casual (2015)
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This critically-acclaimed comedy series follows a newly-divorced single mother who finds herself living with her slacker brother, the founder of a popular dating site, after her ex-husband leaves her, and their teenage daughter, for a younger woman.
Casual stars Michaela Watkins as Valerie Meyers and Tommy Dewey as Alex Cole.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 92%
6. The Act (2019)
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The Act is an anthology series that focuses on a true crime story.
The first season follows Gypsy Blanchard a girl trying to escape the toxic relationship she has with her mother, who suffers from Munchausen by proxy.
As Gypsy seeks to break free from her mother's watchful eye, she uncovers secrets that ultimately lead to her mother’s murder.
The series features Joey King as Gypsy and Patricia Arquette as Dee Dee.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 89%
7. Difficult People (2015)
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The series follows a pair of struggling New York City comedians who are disliked by those they meet.
Julie Klausner and Billy Eichner portray Julie Klausner and Billy Eichner as the comedians with Amy Poehler as the executive producer of the series.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 96%
8. Looking for Alaska (2019)
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Based on the 2005 novel by John Green, Looking For Alaska is an eight-part miniseries from Josh Schwartz.
The teen drama follows Miles “Pudge” Halter as he starts an exciting new life at the Culver Creek Boarding School in Alabama.
There, he meets his roommate Chip “The Colonel” Martin and falls quickly in love with Alaska Young.
Kristine Froseth plays Alaska Young and Charlie Plummer plays Miles "Pudge" Halter.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 92%
9. Little Fires Everywhere (2020)
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Based on the 2017 Celeste Ng novel and released as an eight-part miniseries in March 2020, Little Fires Everywhere is about two moms, Elena Richardson and Mia Warren, from different backgrounds raising their children in Shaker Heights, Ohio.
The fires in the title refers to the burning of the Richardson’s home that happens at the very beginning of the series, but the show touches on motherhood, race and mystery.
The series features Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 80%
10. Pen15 (2019)
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Pen15 is about two best friends navigating the 7th grade in the year 2000.
This comedy is based on the creators in their middle school years.
They play fictionalized versions of their middle school selves opposite to actual 13-year-olds.
The show tackles issues of insecurity, peer pressure, and puberty.
This series features Maya Erskine as Maya Ishii-Peters and Anna Konkle as Anna Kone.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 93%
11. Shrill (2019)
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This series is about a young woman attempting to launch her career as a journalist, while trying to find love and maintain healthy relationships with her friends and parents.
The show has received great reviews for its depiction of self love and acceptance.
Saturday Night Live’s Aidy Bryant stars in this Hulu original.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 87%
12. Harlots (2017)
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Harlots is one of Hulu’s most critically acclaimed original shows.
It was inspired by The Covent Garden Ladies by British historian Hallie Rubenhold.
This original is a drama set in the brothels of 18th century London centering around two rivals trying to protect their businesses.
Jessica Brown Findlay and Samantha Morton star.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 97%
13. Castle Rock (2018)
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Castle Rock is an American psychological horror anthology television series, featuring and inspired by characters, settings, and themes from the stories created by Stephen King and his fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine.
There are two seasons streaming on Hulu and the series is pending renewal for a third.
Castle Rock features Bill Skarsgard as a young man and Melanie Lynskey as Molly Strand.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 88%
14. Marvel’s Runaways (2017)
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After growing apart after a friend’s death, a group of six teenagers are brought back together when they realize their parents are part of Pride, a villainous enterprise that carries out ritual sacrifices of humans.
The series is part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
This series stars Virginia Gardner as Karolina Dean and Gregg Sulkin as Chase Stein.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 87%
15. Solar Opposites (2020)
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When a team of four aliens crash land into a move-in ready home, they’re evenly split on whether America is awful or awesome.
Korvo and Yumyulack see pollution, consumerism, and human frailty as existential failings.
Terry and Jesse, however, love humans and their TV, junk food, and toys.
Their mission is to protect the Pupa, a living supercomputer that will one day evolve into its final form, eat them, and terraform the earth.
The executive producer of Rick & Morty created this series.
Justin Roiland voices Korvo, Mary Mack voices Jesse, Sean Giambrone voices Yumyulack and Thomas Middleditch voices Terry.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 77%
16. Mrs. America (2020)
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This series is about the movement to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment.
It focuses on a woman named Phyllis Schlafly, who wants to preserve the sanctity of separate gender roles and the cult of domesticity.
The story is told through the eyes of Schlafly and second-wave feminists such as Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan, Shirley Chisholm, Bella Abzug, and Jill Ruckelshaus, exploring one of the toughest battlegrounds of the 1970s culture wars that forever changed the American political landscape.
Cate Blanchette plays Phyllis Schlafly and Rose Byrne plays Gloria Steinem.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 96%
17. Letterkenny (2016)
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Letterkenny is a comedy about a group of small-towners just trying to get by.
It mainly centers on Wayne and Daryl and the schemes they come up with to make a money, enjoy themselves and cause a ruckus in their boring town.
Letterkenny features Jared Kesso as Wayne, Michelle Mylett as Katy and Nathan Dales as Daryl.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 91%
18. The Looming Tower (2018)
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This series charts the build-up to 9/11 as seen through the eyes of agents in both the FBI and CIA. Jeff Daniels, the chief of the FBI’s New York Counterterrorism Center in the 1990s, is convinced that a terrorist attack on the US is imminent.
John O'Neill plays Jeff Daniels and Peter Sarsgaard plays Martin Schmidt.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 88%
19. Chance (2019)
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Based on the Kem Nunn novel of the same name, Chance stars Hugh Laurie as a forensic neuropsychiatrist, Dr. Eldon Chance. Chance, who is going through a divorce, becomes romantically involved with a patient named Lucy.
Hugh Laurie is Dr. Eldon Chance and Greta Lee is Lucy Baek.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 75%
20. The Path (2016)
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The Path is about members of a fictional spiritual moment called Meyerism.
The series primarily revolves around Eddie Lane, who has a revelation while on a retreat that leads him to question his faith.
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Eddie, however, won’t confess his doubts to his devout wife, Sarah, who believes her husband is hiding an affair from her.
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The series stars Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 77%
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